Home
by laverene
Summary: On Austin's birthday he was left with a video camera by his girlfriend. When he watched it he was left with two choices.
1. Chapter 1

I'm in one of those moods when I got really lazy doing anything but to write so yeah, this the result. Don't judge!

Enjoy

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He's Austin Moon and he has everything what he wanted.

He's a rockstar now.

He's one of the most desirable men that ever walked on earth.

Girls want him and guys want to be him.

He impressed the music industry for the first time when he opened a tour for Maroon 5 when he was only seventeen. The girls went gaga over him they loved him so much and some might even said more than the lead singer of the band, Adam Levine. Soon after, he found offers from various record labels from Hollywood, that he couldn't possibly turn them down.

But he had to leave everything and everyone behind. Left them to be on a few pages of his biography when someone would be interested enough to make him one in the future. He couldn't say that he was thrilled to leave home.

Soon enough, he moved to Hollywood to pursue his dream further. He got a brand new life, his brand new record label, his brand new manager, his brand new video director and his brand new songwriters that popped up brand new songs whenever he needed.

When he first landed in LA, he almost called home every day. There was no day he faced without hearing home. Home sounded so great and happy and that made him happy too. After all home was so supportive of all of this. But the one month in, all he wanted to do was take off to Miami.

Three months in, the phone calls grew less frequent. It went from every day to every week. Six days he was miserable and the one day he called home he was so happy, too excited like he was on drugs. People around him realized that. Home sounded great, every time he called. Home sounded happier.

Six months in, he could only call once a month. At this point in his life, calling home was like winning a lottery. Home always sounded great and happy. Happier than him.

One year in, he was too busy. So he stopped calling home. Home seemed so happy when he called. Like home didn't need him anymore, after all he felt like he was always making the efforts. Home never even called him. Not even once.

It was a new adaptation that he had to learn to get used to.

He started searching for a new home.

Three years in, he still couldn't find a replacement for his home. He found himself comparing everything to home.

...

Until one fine Friday morning. Friday has been always his free day, he would go on a disguise as some foreign guy and pretend he could not speak English. He would always go to this small breakfast café and ordered the same pancakes, because it was the closest pancakes he could find that ever tasted like home. Not quite the same, but almost.

But that Friday morning, he met someone. She recognized him instantly and sat in his booth. "Oh my God, Austin! I knew we would meet again someday!"

"Cassidy?" he was happy to see her. She was looking better than ever, her long blonde hair was gone and replaced by a short one. The last time he saw her , she promised him a date. But they were still some foolish teenagers back then.

She was overjoyed when she saw him, let's just say a small part of her still like him a bit, "I went back to Miami two years ago, you know, only to finally give you the date that I promise."

Austin chuckled when he heard that, "Really?"

"Yeah," she put one of her hands on her chest, "Though it's sound so pathetic, but I'm telling you the truth!"

"What did you find there?"

"I found Dez working at Melody Diner, he told me that you went to LA to pursue your rockstar career. That I could clearly say it went pretty well," she smiled.

"How is your band?"

"They're great thanks for asking, we're going to record a new single!"

They caught up for a bit. Laughter filled the air pretty quickly and the costumer changing hour by hour but he seemed too preoccupied to notice. He was busy catching up with the girl who used to make his heart beat miles a minute. And looked like his heartbeat started to mimic the past. He almost felt like he was home.

"So about the date that you promised, will it still be available in Los Angeles or only in Miami?"

"Actually that date has expired a long time ago."

His face dropped.

She laughed in his face, "I'm kidding!"

"Don't ever do that again!"

Soon enough every magazine stands all over the world flooded with their pictures and news.

_**Pictured together for the first time: Austin Moon and 'new girlfriend' Cassidy Harris enjoy a romantic day out!**_

_**Spotted Aussidy holding hands!**_

_**Will Aussidy stays strong or they are just a fad?**_

_**Sorry Austies, looks like Cassidy Harris got your man! The couple spotted kissing backstage of the VMA's!**_

Another year was almost gone and they were still going strong. They were crowned as the cutest couple of the year. They moved into his apartment together and she made his life easier. Every day after a rough day in the studio he would find her in his bed and they would cuddle from the night to the dawn.

Everything started to fall into the right places. He was ready to forget his past and started a new life with his beautiful girlfriend. He almost forgot about home, though it wasn't completely. He was taking it one step at a time. A new memory he made with Cassidy, another memory of home disappeared.

The morning of his birthday he couldn't find her. She wasn't in their bed, he got up and looked for her in the kitchen but she wasn't there. Maybe she was getting some grocery, it was Sunday morning after all. She always buys grocery on Sunday. So he picked up the leftover of their last meal from the night before and sat in front of the TV to watch a game.

But he found a video camera with red ribbon on top standing next to his wallet on the coffee table. He smiled when he saw a note saying _click and watch me, birthday boy :)_

He gladly obeyed the note.

He clicked the play button and the first thing he saw was Cassidy in his favorite shirt she looked like she just woke up.

_Oh my God is this thing on?_

He chuckled at her cuteness.

_Wait I see the red light beeping so I hope it's on. Okay so I'm being as quiet as I can be because you're sleeping in the next room. And I know how grumpy you'd get in the morning.. But it's your birthday! Happy Birthday baby!_

He smiled as she sang him a very melodious birthday song.

_I'm sorry for being so lame and for doing this stuff. I know you specifically told me not to get you anything, but you know me I can't do that. And I won't do that! I did ask a bunch of guys—don't be jealous! I asked my band mates what should I get you, and guess what Tommy told me to get you a dog and named him Willis but I know you're not that good with animals so I scratched that from my potential gift for you list. So I bought you a camera, don't worry it's a cheap one. I know you don't want me to spend a dime on you but it's the least I could do! I couldn't live with myself for not giving you anything for your twenty-second birthday!_

_ But it's not just the camera okay! After I'm done with this video, I want you to take a look at the other videos because I asked a few people to say happy birthday to you. Yup, and your parents too, no I didn't go to Miami to get it, I just sent them and asked them through the mail. And they were more than happy to do so. _

Then Cassidy sneezed. "Bless you," he mumbled slowly.

_Oops sorry! But I'm not going to record this all over again just because I sneezed! I'm going to grab some tissues first. So I'll be right back._

He saw her walking into the bathroom's direction and a few seconds later she was back holding a box of tissues and his wallet.

_Okay so I found my Kleenex box, but I also found your wallet in the bathroom and I have always curious to see what is inside your wallet okay? So I'm just going to see it and let you witness my action and I apologize in advance for doing this, but I'm naturally curious. _

She pulled out a picture of Mimi Moon.

_Aw, gotta love a guy who has a picture of his mom. _

Austin was enjoying this, he didn't really mind Cassidy was going through his stuff.

_Look you have a picture of me too.. I guess the media was right I have the best boyfriend ever!_

Cassidy suddenly stayed silent. Her smiled was replaced by with a flurry one. She pulled out another picture.

_It's you and Ally. _

She showed it to the camera while she was forcing the words out. It was him and Ally, sitting closely to each other with his arm around her shoulder. They were too busy to care about the camera because they were smiling at each other face to face. It was in fact his favorite picture with Ally and the last picture he took with her. He didn't even realize he still has it in his wallet.

Cassidy stayed silent observing the picture.

_You look so happy, I've never seen you this happy before. Well I remembered the last time I saw you at the dinner after you performed that song for me you instantly ran up to her and hugged her, and I, I.. swear you wore the same grin like you did in this picture. _

Her voice cracked at the end. Austin wanted to stop watching, like it was enough for him. But he couldn't as she upended the picture.

_ This place is many things, but i'd never call it home.  
It's just a building in a city,  
everywhere I go.  
This place is many things but I can't call it home,  
Home is the place you are.  
You are my home,  
You are my everything, when i feel so alone,  
You are my home, you are my shelter,  
when all my hope is gone._

_ You wrote this? This is very beautiful Austin, don't even try to deny it! I know your crappy hand writing okay!_

She laughed though she seemed she forced it out.

_You know what Austin, I think you're not completely honest with me.. _

"I am completely honest with you Cass," he said but he knew she wasn't physically here to hear that.

_And I know you'd probably say that you've been honest all this time when you see this video but you don't. You might not realize it but I do, everyone in Hollywood might even realize that. You know... I'm going to tell you why I rejected you for a date when we first met? Um, this is really hard for me to say but when I first saw you with Ally, I saw something between you two like the way she wiped your mouth when you got mayonnaise all over your face and you got all annoyed when she did it. I watched you two and I remember thinking that you two must be a couple, I even asked Trish if you two were together and she said I was ridiculous, but I knew I saw something. And when you asked me out for the first time because we be both holding a bottle of ketchup, _

She laughed.

_I said no because I thought I would save myself from a massive heartbreak when you finally realized that you loved your best friend and decided to dump me. And the second time you asked me out I already got the record deal and I thought I would probably never see you again and it was no harm to tell you that I liked you too.._

Cassidy took another minute to stay silent before she took a really deep breath.

_So okay.. I decided to make things easier for you, find a video of Ally wishing you a happy birthday. I know it's in here somewhere because I did send her this camera. I.. will let you choose, ask yourself can you survive without me? If the answer is yes, book yourself a plane ticket back to Miami! And if the answer is no, you know my old address.. Decide where your home is, Austin._

She blew one last kiss to the camera before the screen went blank.

* * *

This is a two shots people ;) So it doesn't stop there. And I kind of like this one so yeah.

~Liana


	2. Chapter 2

Well hello you beautiful people! I would like to say thank you for your wonderful feedback on the last chapter. Really I appreciated it!

Enjoy!

* * *

How could she do this to him?

Sure he wrote that poem for Ally but it was two years ago and when he didn't know that he and Cassidy would happen. He constantly said he loved her, wasn't that enough? Why did she have to make everything complicated again when his paths were starting to get straight. When he was ready to forget about home, why did she have to go through his wallet and saw that picture?

Then he found himself searching Ally's video in the camera.

_Hi Austin! _

She looked so different, she seemed a bit taller and she wore her hair straight now it looked pretty but he preferred her wavy hair. She wore her glasses which mean she didn't have time to find her contacts. She was still the dorky Ally.

_Oh Gosh, it has been so long for me to say your name. But anyway, happy birthday! I hope you have a really long career ahead of you. I know that you don't really care anymore, but I got over my stage-fright yay! I had to, I am a part-time music teacher now at Lessen Ray Elementary School. And I'm just really happy that you and Cassidy are finally together and she's so sweet to go through this much trouble just get you a birthday present. Don't let her go buddy! And if you guys ever decided to have kids and one of them is a girl name her after me okay, because I technically got you two together because of the song! Okay it seems like I'm rumbling way too much I'm going to go now. Once again happy birthday Austin! Phew that went wel—_

The video stopped.

His heart was beating fast and his hands started to get a little sweaty. He ran his fingers through his hair as he thought between the two girls. He loved Cassidy, he truly did. She had stuck around with him for almost a year. Cassidy pulled him out of his stage of depression. She made his life easier under the spotlight. It would only make a perfect sense if he stayed in Hollywood with her.

He instantly picked up his phone and called her, "What the hell Cass?"

"So you've seen my video?" her voice was a bit higher than usual signaling she had been crying.

"Why did you do that for?"

"Austin, I love you okay? But it seemed like this is the right thing to do. Look, there's a lot of stuff that I didn't say to you in the video because there's a little part of me that wish you would pick me over her," she said. "Even though you and I both know that is not going to happen."

He toned down his anger, "And I pick you. I called you, didn't I?"

"But there's a lot of things that you've never done to me but you did it with Ally!"

He scoffed, "Like what?"

"You wrote her a song for fuck's sake and the entire world know that Austin Moon doesn't write his own songs! But in the back of that picture, you wrote her a song!" She yelled at him over the phone.

"You want me to write you a fucking song, fine I'll write you one! I'll play it to you tomorrow at the charity event that we are supposed to attend together!" he yelled back but he realized he sounded like a jerk, "Look Cass, in the video you asked me who I couldn't survive without and I obviously survived this past four years without her, and it's simply because I got you.."

"You look miserable when I first saw you at that breakfast café," she said, "I never told you that but you did. I now realized why."

"Damn it Cassidy, why did you have to go through my wallet and ruin everything for us?" he asked helplessly. "I have everything planned out for us."

"I'm sorry," she whispered softly. "But I need a guy that is here with me emotionally, not just physically."

"And I can be that guy, since the beginning I've been here with you physically and emotionally," he said.

"Don't pull that shit on me Austin, every time I am with you I feel like there was something missing and I couldn't pinpoint what was it exactly, until that picture. It's like half of you, _the you_ that I met when we were sixteen—the you that I was excited to experience again—has always stayed with her all this year."

He was sure he was about to say something. But when he opened his mouth nothing came up.

"I've come to realize that maybe I just came back into your life at the right time and I helped you cope. But.. I think now I realized that I never fixed you because I can't, only she can. I know you know what I have said here is true, I know you felt it somewhere..."

Austin closed his eyes, absorbing her words into his brain.

He could hear her sobs and it killed him a little inside, "Please don't think this is easy for me, trust me it is ten times harder than you think!"

"Then why are you doing this?"

She was muted for a couple of seconds, "Well you know what they say? If you love somebody set them free and if they really love you they'll come back." Though she really doubted this was the case.

"But why had she never called me?" he questioned.

"I don't know," she said, "you need to ask her that, not me."

"But what about you?"

"Oh don't worry about me, I'll be fine.." she answered, "yeah, I think I'll be fine. So don't waste one more minute go get her, Romeo!"

He smiled, "Thanks Cass, you're the best."

"No problems," she said as she hung up on him and cried herself to sleep. She knew she did the right thing. She knew from the start, Austin Moon would give her a massive heartbreak when he realized he was in love with his best friend. But she'll survive.

...

The six hour flight felt like six years.

When the plane landed in Miami International Airport he was the first one to get out of the plane. He rented a car and drove. He almost forgot his bag because he didn't want to waste any more minute, he had spoiled them for the last five years.

His time was just too precious to waste.

On his way, traffic was thick, everyone out for their Suday night. At stoplights he looked at the cars around him, talking families with kids in car seats, and college girls in club make up, blasting the radio and dangling cigarettes out their open windows.

But all he could think of was Ally, his Ally, oh how much he missed her.

_"Hey you congrats!" she hugged him backstage, she had just witnessed him perform in front of three thousand people for the first time of his life. "You did AHH-MAZING!"_

_ He hugged her back just a little tighter, like he hadn't hugged her all day. Though he just did it right before the performance. _

_ And she liked his bone-crushing hug even though her body was now covered in his sweat. "You made it Austin," she whispered in his ear. _

_"No, we made it," he corrected her._

He frowned as he gripped the steering wheel.

_She sat on the airport bench, with his fingers intertwined with hers. They were waiting for the operating agent to call his flight. None of them said anything, none of them shed a tear. Just looking peacefully at their joined hands. _

_ "I could still back down you know, there's no way I could make it without you. You rejected MUNY so this will be the same thing," he told her. _

_ "No," she shook her head, "it's not the same. This is a golden opportunity, you can't back down. Or I'll never speak to you again if you do."_

_ "I love you, you know that right?" he asked bluntly._

_ She smiled, "I know and I love you too, but I have to let you go. I can't be selfish." _

The last thing he remembered was Ally laid her head on Trish's shoulder as she slowly walked toward the parking lot and his new manager pushed him into the airplane gate. Now he found it ironic how she threatened him to never speak again if he back down. She never contacted him, not even once.

...

When he reached his destination it was already nine-twenty five pm, and the mall closes in five minutes. He got out of his rental car and ran to his favorite store in the mall.

He stopped when he was ten feet away from it.

He saw her!

There she was, ten feet away from him wearing a bright blue sweater and she was locking up the store.

But he couldn't move, he just froze there right on the spot. He didn't know what should he do. Should he just yell her name out loud? Or should he just run up to her and kisses her senselessly, but what if she got a boyfriend? See this was a bad idea, she probably has one now!

He was in his deep thought when he heard, "Austin?"

His heart stopped for a sec.

He looked up to find Ally, walking up to him slowly, her forehead crinkled in confusion, "What are you doing here?"

" Um hi, I saw your video!" he said quickly. "It was great."

"Thanks," she replied folding her arms under her chest, "I don't remember how enduring it was to lead you back to Miami. So is Cassidy with you?" she asked, smiling awkwardly.

He shook his head, "No. We broke up."

"Oh.." was all she said, "Okay, so do you want to go somewhere or talk about it maybe?"

"No it's alright we're still friends," he said.

She toyed with the hem of her sweater, "That's good to know."

It didn't take that long until he said, "Actually I lied. I don't like your tape. I thought it was forceful and you don't mean any of those stuff you said in the video. Why did you even straighten your hair when you know I like it when your hair is wavy, and why do you have to wear that dorky glasses of yours and being adorkable and make my stomach tangled up inside? And it's like you didn't even try!" he paused looking at the brunette in front of him. "You didn't even say you miss me? Did you miss me at all?"

She stayed quiet, fearing to say the wrong thing.

"And you didn't even call me, not even once Ally! I always tried and tried and I finally gave up thinking maybe you're happy that I left you—"

She sighed, "Austin you know that's not true.."

"Then what is the truth?"

She ran her fingers through her hair, clearly frustrated, "Fine, I couldn't call you okay! Every time I heard your voice I felt like two thousand bricks fell down on me! And I couldn't tell you that honestly because I knew that you'd leave LA and I was glad when you didn't call anymore but half of me died the last time we spoke. And I miss you, you don't have any idea how much I miss you..." her eyes were gleaming under the moonlight.

"Before I met Cassidy I was miserable, she pulled me out of my misery," he said taking a step closer to her.

She gulped nervously, "What are you doing here then?"

"Well.." he started, taking another step closer to her, "She told me to find my home."

She looked up at him, opening her mouth to speak, but before she could even attempt to form words, he had pressed his lips against her own. She closed her eyes, and let his lips grazing softly on her lips.

"Are you home now?" she asked him when they separated for air, their foreheads leaned in against one another.

"I'm safely home," he smiled as his hands cup her face gently.

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End.

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So you want to know a little secret? I wrote this chapter twice, the first one was basically Auslly making out from the first paragraph to the last one, and that would have been awful to read haha, but hey I wrote it when I was half awake!

Well I hope you like it and don't be shy to check out my other one-shots or my stories ;)

Review please?

~Liana


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